Chapter 7: The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique (Part 2).
Mu Chen had lost count of how many times he had cried out in shock. In short, the events of this single day were more unbelievable than anything he had heard in all his twelve years.
"Heh heh, no need to look so shocked. You'll understand in the future. However, this effect alone isn't enough for the Extreme Spirit Pearl to be considered a Chaos Supreme Treasure. Every Chaos Supreme Treasure possesses the power to shatter heavens and sunder the earth," the Profound Old Ghost chuckled.
"Then does the Extreme Spirit Pearl have that kind of power too?" Mu Chen was ecstatic, already imagining how the Extreme Spirit Pearl would shatter heavens and sunder the earth.
But to his surprise, the Profound Old Ghost said disdainfully, "I was talking about a *true* Chaos Supreme Treasure. The reason the Extreme Spirit Pearl is called a Chaos Supreme Treasure is because a Cultivation Method is inscribed within it. Its true value lies in this technique."
A Cultivation Technique was an essential item for every person's Cultivation on the entire Extreme Martial Continent. Without a Cultivation Technique, one couldn't directly communicate with the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, let alone absorb it for their own use. Cultivation Techniques were also divided into five tiers, from lowest to highest: White Tier, Yellow Tier, Profound Tier, Earth Tier, and Celestial Tier. Each tier had four grades: Lower, Middle, Upper, and Peak.
The Grade of a Cultivation Technique directly affected the speed at which one could absorb Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. The higher the Grade of your Cultivation Technique, the faster your Cultivation speed. For example, if a genius possessed a High Grade Cultivation Technique, they could become a prodigy of their generation. Conversely, if a genius with perfect Cultivation Talent used a White Tier Cultivation Method, their Cultivation speed might not even be as fast as an ordinary person using a Profound Tier Cultivation Technique. From this, one could see the importance of a good Cultivation Technique in Cultivation.
Mu Chen was stunned. "A Cultivation Technique? Could it be a Heavenly Rank Technique?"
The Profound Old Ghost heard this and sneered, "You're dreaming. There aren't more than a hundred Heavenly Rank Techniques in the entire continent."
"Is it an Earth Tier one then?" Mu Chen was momentarily disappointed, but he quickly remembered that the highest-grade Cultivation Technique in his Mu Family was only a Yellow Tier, Middle Grade one. In comparison, an Earth Tier Cultivation Technique was already incredible.
The Profound Old Ghost retorted irritably, "This Cultivation Technique is of No Grade. I have no idea what Grade it is, and no one has ever practiced it. So you'll have to test it out yourself to see what Grade it is. However, judging by its contents, it's definitely not some trash technique."
Mu Chen asked curiously, "Does that mean it can advance in grade?"
The Profound Old Ghost was furious. "Brat! Do you think a Cultivation Technique is a Magical Beast? Advance in grade? That's impossible! And taking a huge step back, even if this technique *is* trash, you have no other choice. This is the original text of the technique, which I spent tens of thousands of years deciphering. You'll understand once you take a look."
After the Profound Old Ghost finished speaking, a gray scroll materialized out of thin air in front of Mu Chen and slowly drifted down. Mu Chen reached out and caught it. The scroll felt very soft to the touch, its material exceedingly light, as if he were holding nothing at all.
Mu Chen only had one arm, but after so many years of using it, opening a scroll was still a simple matter. As the scroll unfurled, five large characters radiating a white, fluorescent glow appeared before him.
"Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique?" Mu Chen softly read the four words aloud. This was the name of the Cultivation Technique. Below these four words was a line of smaller text:
I am Extreme Spirit. I traverse the void and, in an alien space, chanced upon the evolution of Chaos. A fortuitous encounter. Following a sudden enlightenment, I spent a millennium creating this technique. Pondering its namelessness, I realized it was created from Chaos and born of my own epiphany. Thus, I call it the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique. A joyous creation.
To cultivate this technique, one must first destroy their qi source. I cherished my million years of hard-won Cultivation and was unwilling to give it up. Thus, I have hidden it here, awaiting the continent's evolution, to be bestowed upon the world and gifted to one who is fated to find it. I hope that whosoever obtains it will fulfill my wish. —A message from Extreme Spirit.
After reading these lines, Mu Chen felt his blood boil and his mouth go dry. He murmured, "'Traverse the void... cherished my million years of hard-won Cultivation... spent a millennium creating this technique...'"
Although he hadn't read the content of the Cultivation Technique itself, Mu Chen was already certain that this technique was definitely not trash.
"So, what do you think?" the Profound Old Ghost's teasing voice rang out. He had seen Mu Chen's expression as clear as day.
Mu Chen swallowed hard and thought, rolling his eyes, 'I haven't even read the main part yet. What's the rush?'
He continued reading, the small characters clear before his eyes. The further he read, the more startled he became, and the more he was shaken by the immense might of the Great Power who had created this technique.
The Chaos Realm is the initial state of a forming world. To form a world, seven elements are required: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, and Dark. In addition to these seven, three other elements are derived from Wood, Water, and Earth: Wind, Ice, and Thunder. This makes for a total of ten elements. Among them, Light and Dark are collectively known as the Chaos element; where there is light, there must be darkness, and where there is darkness, there must be light. Therefore, the nine elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Ice, Thunder, and Chaos form the foundation for building a world.
The Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique works by transforming one's Dantian into a sea of chaos, absorbing the nine elements between heaven and earth to strengthen oneself and obtain power that transcends the world. However, Chaos is turbulent in the beginning. Therefore, to practice this Cultivation Technique, one must destroy their own Dantian, allowing it to return to its initial state. Then, following the method within the technique, one must reforge the Dantian, splitting it into nine parts so it can accommodate nine different Attributes. Only by doing so can one avoid the danger of the original Dantian conflicting with other Attributes, which would cause one's body to explode.
"*Hiss!*" Mu Chen sucked in a sharp breath. A Dantian with nine Attributes—this was simply unheard of! On the Extreme Martial Continent, countless attribute martial artists had appeared. These attribute martial artists were much stronger than ordinary Martial Artists of the same rank, but 99% of them only possessed a single Attribute. Even the rare Dual Attribute Martial Artists who did appear would die from their bodies exploding because they couldn't balance the two Attributes. But this Cultivation Technique actually required one to reforge their Dantian into an all-powerful, Nine-Attribute Dantian, and it absolutely wouldn't cause the body to explode. This...
"Heh heh, your Master didn't lie to you, did I? This is an absolutely unprecedented Cultivation Technique. Now you know why the Extreme Spirit Pearl can't shatter heavens and sunder the earth, yet is still called a Chaos Supreme Treasure, right? But... the more powerful the Cultivation Technique, the stricter the limitations," the Profound Old Ghost chuckled, suddenly speaking up.
"Limitations?" Mu Chen looked over the Cultivation Technique from top to bottom again but didn't find any mention of limitations. He asked in confusion.
The Profound Old Ghost said, "It's true that it isn't written in there. But think about it. The Cultivation speed of a typical attribute martial artist is much slower than that of ordinary martial artists. Do you know why?"
"That's common knowledge, of course I know. When an attribute martial artist absorbs Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, they need to spend time filtering out the Primordial Qi that conflicts with their Dantian's Attribute to make their own attribute's Primordial Qi purer. Ordinary martial artists don't need to do this; they can directly absorb all types of Primordial Qi. But this also means their Primordial Qi isn't pure enough, which is why they're much weaker than attribute martial artists of the same rank." Mu Chen answered without a second thought.
"But a Nine-Attribute Dantian doesn't need to filter anything either," Mu Chen added.
The Profound Old Ghost didn't mock Mu Chen. Instead, he patiently explained, "A Nine-Attribute Dantian indeed doesn't need to filter, but the issue lies in absorption. This Cultivation Technique splits the Dantian into nine parts, but there's only one main channel connecting to them. For example, if we compare your main channel to a river, a single-Attribute Martial Artist only needs to filter out conflicting Attributes. The entire river flows with that one type of water, and once their Dantian is full, they can advance in rank. But you're different. Your one main channel has to carry nine different types of water, yet the river is still the same width. These different waters flow to each of your nine Dantians respectively. You can only advance in rank when all nine Dantians are full. That is your limitation."
Mu Chen was stunned, then wailed in despair, "That limitation is too harsh! A single-Attribute Martial Artist's Cultivation speed is already at least twice as slow as an ordinary martial artist's. If I cultivate the Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique and become a Nine-Attribute Martial Artist, won't my speed be nine times slower than an ordinary martial artist's?"
The Profound Old Ghost laughed heartily. "Of course not! Did you forget? Cultivation speed also depends on the Grade of the Cultivation Technique. The higher the Grade, the faster the absorption speed, and the amount of Primordial Qi you draw in naturally increases. However, since you haven't officially started cultivating this technique, I can't be certain how fast it will be, but it definitely won't be too slow."
"Master, is there a solution?" Mu Chen shook his head helplessly. 'The creator of this Cultivation Technique didn't even mention this problem. How could my Master possibly know? Even though I know he's very strong.'
"Of course there is."
"Sigh, I knew it. Master, please don't trouble yourself. It's just that I was being too greedy. The fact that I can stop being a cripple and be able to cultivate is already more than enou—huh? Master, what did you just say?" Mu Chen hadn't processed it yet. After sighing dejectedly, he suddenly realized he had just heard four words.
The Profound Old Ghost said irritably, "I said, of course there's a solution! Otherwise, would I have spent the last hundred thousand years researching it for nothing?"
"As expected of you, Master! My admiration for you is like a surging river... (5,000 words of flattery omitted)." Mu Chen's eyes shone as he immediately began to shamelessly flatter his Master. Ever since he learned there was hope for him to no longer be a cripple and to be able to cultivate, Mu Chen's entire mindset had undergone a huge change. It was a feeling of excitement and anticipation, like clouds parting to reveal the bright sun.